Watery Grave
by shaunathan
Summary: It’s the end if the world. All hope is lost. Ruby tries to set things right again.


It had been four weeks. Four weeks of unending rain, of torrential floods, of all remaining land slowly slipping beneath the ever-rising sea. Four weeks since the last time the world had seen sunlight. Four weeks since there had been any hope.

Ruby didn't know how it had happened. He didn't know how Sapphire had gotten her hands on the Blue Orb again. He didn't know where she'd found it. He didn't know why she'd taken it again. Had it been an accident? Had she meant to take it upon herself again? Had she known of some oncoming calamity she had tried to use it to stop? Or had something in her changed and made her go mad, made her take the Orb for a selfish, insane goal? Whatever the reason, Sapphire had claimed the Blue Orb once again, something had gone wrong, and she'd plunged the world into apocalypse.

It had been three weeks since Groudon rose up against its eternal foe. It had been three weeks since its magma-filled body was extinguished forever. It had been two weeks since Rayquaza had descended to rain draconic fury on the tyrannical sea titan. It had been two weeks since the sky god had sunk, lifeless, to the depths. It had been one week since the combined forces of each region's most powerful trainers had risen up to the tallest peak in the world in arms against the calamity. It had been one week since a mass grave was made of that peak's ruins. With Sapphire's battle prowess and Kyogre's furious power combined, the rest of the world stood no chance. It was clear for all to see that the battle was lost. It was simply a matter of time until civilization ceased to exist.

In a futile effort to preserve humanity for as long as possible, those who had survived the initial onslaught in the Hoenn region made their way to the top of Mt. Chimney. Their last communication from any other region had come the day after ground zero, informing that the survivors in Sinnoh had fallen back to Spear Pillar. After that, the thunderous clouds grew so thick that satellites couldn't receive the signal. Hoenn was isolated.

The mood in the meager camp was dismal. There was no heat to warm the survivors, since Mt. Chimney had long since fallen dormant, filled with rainwater from above and undercut with obtrusive seawater from beneath. There was no sunlight to cut through the inky darkness of the storms. There was no end in sight to the torrential downpour that soaked to the bone. Most of the fire-type Pokémon that trainers had brought to the summit had died, and the few left were dying. Water-type Pokémon, whether in elation at the favorable climate or summoned by some irresistible call from the deep, had long since abandoned their trainers. Grass-types, who had no sunlight to photosynthesize, were dying a slow death of sickness and starvation.

Ruby knew he didn't belong there, among all those ashen-faced people shuffling hopelessly toward their demise. He knew, with the utmost conviction, that this wasn't the end. The threat they faced was not insurmountable. Of course, he knew how dangerous she was. He'd seen the bodies, he'd seen the destruction before the news had cut out. He'd seen firsthand the decimation of all he knew and loved. But he also knew that under it all, it was still Sapphire. His Sapphire. He knew that if he could somehow find her and talk with her, he could reach the real her. He could talk her down. He could get her to release the Blue Orb and make things right.

The rest of the survivors didn't agree with him.

"You're crazy!" a woman had spat after he pled his case. "You think you can reason with that... that thing?" She'd jabbed a finger at the swirling ocean just a half-mile below.

"She's not a 'thing,'" Ruby had argued, angry that she would dare speak of Sapphire in such a dehumanizing way. "I know she's still in there."

"It killed my son!" the woman had shrieked, eyes wild. She'd looked ready to strangle him. "That monster isn't human anymore!"

The others had shared similar opinions. Even Ruby's mother, torn with grief over the loss of her husband, had just collapsed in a pile of tears when he'd expressed his hope. "He's gone," she'd sobbed, and Ruby hadn't known whom she was talking about. "It's over."

He had no choice. If they wouldn't help him, he had to do it himself. Four weeks after the world ended, Ruby caught one of the Skarmory that had sought refuge at the peak and took flight. He abandoned the doomed mountain and set out on his journey. Finally, after hours of searching, he located a little white boat bobbing like a cork on the dark surface of the sea: Mr. Briney's ship. He landed on it, started the motor, and set out through the storm in search of Sapphire.

On the first day, he passed a scattered mess of wood, rope, and what he could only assume used to be homes. At first, he thought it might be Pacifidlog Town, since everything there was already made to float. But then, in a flash of lightning, he saw beneath the waves and made out a Pokémon Gym surrounded by dense trees.

It was the ruins of Fortree City.

He stared down at the water for a long time, the image of that drowned gym burned into his memory. That was the gym Winona had led. Winona, who'd been Sapphire's mentor back during their first adventure. Winona, whom Kyogre had possessed the girl to send to a watery grave, along with her own father. Ruby couldn't bear to imagine how much it must have torn her up to do that. He needed to find her soon to save her from more grief.

On the second day, he passed through a floating cemetery. He noticed when several objects bumped into the hull of the ship, causing it to shudder. He raced to the deck, hopeful he'd finally found her, but instead, when he looked over the guardrail, he was met with a swath of corpses, bobbing at the surface of the water. He watched as the ship sifted through crowds of dead bodies. Men, women, children, even Pokémon, all unmoving in the turbulent sea. He stared in disbelief, furious at Kyogre for forcing Sapphire to do such a thing. He had to locate her quick and free her from the cruel titan's control.

On the third day, he nearly collided with a shipwreck. It must have fallen to rest on some spot of land, because the hull still stuck out of the water like a knife. The ship's name, S.S. Anne, appeared dull despite its gilded lettering. Without any sunlight to reflect off it, the gold may as well have been lead. Through the ship's middle gaped a massive hole, decorated with an icy crust. Kyogre must have made Sapphire blast it with a superpowered ice beam, sinking the back half and leaving it, somehow, mostly intact. But despite being still above the sea level, the ship was deserted, its passengers likely killed in the initial crash. There it stood, a ghost monument to destruction. By now, Ruby was numb to it. His goal remained unchanged.

On the morning of the fourth day, he awoke when he heard footsteps on the deck. Immediately, he sprang out of bed and ran to see who had intruded, ready to fight them off. But instead of a desperate, scavenging survivor, he saw... Sapphire. Only she looked different.

Instead of her usual fair, tanned skin, she glowed with an eerie, bluish-purple color. On her arms, the striped symbols of Kyogre that had appeared when she'd last tried to control the Orb radiated harsh yellow light. Her hair, unbound by the bandana he'd made for her, was deep blue, the same color as Kyogre's hide. From her neck to her chest, a bright line of blood red glowed in the darkness. She wore a vest-like shirt, sleeveless and cut off at her midriff, and dark blue jeans with a black jacket tied at her waist. A chain dangled from the belt loops. When she turned to look at him, he saw her eyes. The whites they'd once had were replaced by pure black, like looking into the deepest depths of the ocean. Only icy chips of yellow broke the darkness.

However, despite the unusual appearance, when she saw Ruby, her face lit up in an easy smile, like she was meeting an old friend for lunch. To his surprise, when she spoke, it was in her own voice. "Hi, prissy boy!"

He didn't immediately respond. Still on edge, he remained frozen in place, his hand at his belt, ready to unleash a Pokémon and fight.

"Oh lighten up, will ya?" Sapphire snorted. "It's me."

Ruby's mouth felt dry. The way she was talking... it was so... normal. So ridiculously normal. It was exactly what she would have said if they'd been in Littleroot, and not on the deck of the last ship in existence, at the end of the world. "You," he rasped, and swallowed hard.

"Yeah, me. You know, your friend Sapphire?" She raised an eyebrow and waved, looking amused at his mistrust. "Come on, don't tell me you've forgotten me just like you forgot Mirage Island."

By habit, Ruby retorted, "Forgot what?"

Sapphire grinned. "Ah, see, you do remember!" Before Ruby could shrink away or flinch, she moved closer and pulled him over to the guardrail. She leaned on it and gazed out at the murky horizon. "Hey, let's talk for a minute. We have a lot to catch up on, huh?"

"That's an understatement," Ruby replied. He still didn't trust Sapphire, no matter how normally she acted. He knew she was still in there underneath the destructive layers of Kyogre, but it couldn't possibly be this easy.

Could it?

Sapphire's expression turned contemplative. "Yeah. First, I just want to say that I'm sorry about all this. The destruction, I mean. And I'm really sorry about... your dad."

The look she gave him was so regretful that for a second Ruby almost believed that she'd somehow broken free of Kyogre. But the thought kept nagging at the back of his mind that this couldn't be right. It couldn't be this easy to get Sapphire back from the Orb. "It's okay," he said, keeping his tone guarded. "I forgive you."

"It's not though," Sapphire sighed. "It really isn't okay. I feel terrible about it. And it makes it even worse that I'm gonna have to ask you a really selfish favor."

Ruby frowned. "Favor?"

"Yeah." She focused on him again. "Please, Ruby, for my sake." She placed a hand over her heart. "For your best friend... Jump over the side of the boat."

Instant alarm bells went off in Ruby's head. "Wh-What?" he demanded, his muscles tensing.

She gave him an imploring look, and then repeated, as easily as if she was asking him to go get her a glass of water, "Please jump off the side of the boat. I know it doesn't make any sense, but you have to believe me. It'll be better for both of us if you just jump off the side of the boat." Her voice rose and her pupils flashed bright.

"No!" Ruby shouted, springing away from her. All of a sudden, the downpour that he hadn't realized had subsided resumed in full force, splattering the deck with fierce rainwater.

Sapphire's hair swirled in the wind as she stood up and faced him again. "Ruby," she said, her voice as clear over the tumult as if she was speaking right into his ear. "Please don't be like this. I swear if you just do it we'll both be better off."

She sounded so reasonable, so like herself, but Ruby knew better. He'd been right to be suspicious. This wasn't Sapphire. Kyogre was using her body, her voice, her memories to make him let down his guard. It was using her to break him. The idea that the titan was manipulating his best friend like that sent fury coursing through his veins.

"Knock it off!" he shouted. "Sapphire, I know you're in there! I know the real you is still somewhere deep down inside! Please, fight back!"

"Ruby, come on," the thing that looked like Sapphire scoffed. "This is me. Really, would I lie to you?"

"Sapphire, please," Ruby continued, as though the creature hadn't used his friend's stolen voice. "It's me, Ruby. Remember me? Remember the adventures we went on together? Remember Littleroot?"

"Of course I remember," the creature said. "I'm Sapphire. Now would you please do me this tiny little favor and jump off the boat?"

"Remember how we used to argue all the time? Remember back when we were little kids when I saved you from that Salamence? Remember the promise? Together until the last moment?" Ruby swallowed hard, and then played his last card. "Remember Mirage Island?"

And then the creature's face softened. The edge that it held in its attempts to set him at ease vanished, the eyes turned their natural blue, and its stance faltered. For just a few moments, the forced casual expression fell away, and it was Sapphire again. It was really her.

She looked pitiful. Her lip trembled and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. All the hurt and terror she had felt while Kyogre abused her form to enact its destruction pooled at the surface. "R-Ruby," she choked out in a sob. "Help..."

But then, before Ruby could even respond, before he could reassure her that it would all be okay, Kyogre regained control. Her face hardened, she gritted her teeth, and in a furious motion, she punched the air in front of her. A split second later, a massive wave crashed down on the boat, knocking Ruby off his feet and overboard, dazed.

As his mind slowly numbed into unconsciousness, he slipped down into the depths, into the inky darkness that was the last thing he would ever see.


End file.
